bleachfanfictionfandomcom-20200223-history
Rōkurō Yamanosuke
Rōkurō Jinpachi Yamanosuke no Jirō (山之助 次郎 甚八 蝋躯婁, Yamanosuke no Jirō Jinpachi Rōkurō) is the current Sixth Seat of the Fifth Division, serving under captain Shinji Hirako. Appearance Rōkurō appears as a slender, tall young man with tanned skin, short-cut, fiery red hair and striking golden eyes. He does not bear any significant markings or piercings on his face. Unlike the majority of Shinigami, Rōkurō dies not wear the typical Shinigami uniform consisting of a black kosode and black hakama, tied together with a white obi. He also does not wear the general tabi sandals as well with a pair of white socks. Instead, he wears a short skin-tight black jacket designed in a crop-top like form. The jacket has a diagonal opening which begins at the middle of the right side of coat and extends upwards, creating a divide near his chest region. His neck collar is extended upwards on the right side and is covered on the left side with grey wolf fur, the traditional fur worn by members of the Yamanosuke family. He wears blue hakama secured with a brown belt and long, black boots. Personality As a young, inexperienced noble, Rōkurō often feels the need to imitate the ever-so-typical old money culture of aristocrats that he has witnessed previous generations of noble families display. As such, when around other noble people he tends to gravitate towards their views on life, acting serene and apathetic towards other people and hiding his emotions from the general public. He acts noticeably calm and indifferent towards people, and looks down towards people who are not of his social standing, albeit not completely dehumanizing them. His family having been one of the founding families of Soul Society, he shows immense pride in this fact and takes it upon himself to treat the newer royal families as vulgar, crass, and lacking in social graces. His lack of heart towards other people who are not nobles causes others to refer to him as a cold, inconsiderate bully. However, when he is not being pressured to act as the other aristocrats do, his genuine personality is that of a laid-back, flamboyant young man. His cool, collected personality along with his good looks and charm cause women to fawn over him. Rōkurō, being young and naive, is unaware of this and often finds the constant attention he gets to be annoying and creepy. He constantly becomes embarassed when complimented in public and often hides himself away from other people as to minimize social contact. Rōkurō tends to speak to others with a youthful Western vibe, preferring not using the honorifics that many of the older Gōtei 13 members use as he sees it as "old-fashioned" and "outdated". Instead, he refers to people closer or below his age by first name and those older than him by their last names. His refusal to use the proper honorifics often annoy his fellow Shinigami, who find it uncourteous and disrespectful. On the contrary, despite not using honorifics when referring to others he becomes visibly annoyed when people fail to use honorifics when speaking to him or talking about him in any way or form. Rōkurō possesses a strong lust for battle and often disregards his fears and worries when he becomes hot-headed and angry, using fights as a stress reliever for his daily problems. Rōkurō tends to respect his opponents' ability out on the field and is not necessarily one to boast or to gloat about his own ability; however, he is known to go on tangents where he talks about himself, which frequently puts his opponents to sleep before he is able to battle them, much to his annoyance. Despite his carefree personality, Rōkurō is able to care deeply for those who are particularly close to him. He has a very strong sense of family and deeply cares for his father and his mother. Despite the hatred he shows for his brother, under these feelings of rage and hatred he is able to show concern and love for him and defends him when others talk about him in a negative light. Rōkurō is not accustomed to having feelings of sadness and despair, never actually experiencing these emotions until the death of his close friend Jinpachi Isa during his time at the Academy. His general inexperience with the emotion of sadness is particularly due to his upbringing, where he received anything he always wanted and never had to struggle for anything. He once again experiences tthe emotions of sadness at the moment of his brother's defection. Unable to understand why he is sad, he grows even more upset when he finds that he cannot make this deep feeling go away. His lack of experience with the emotion of despair leads him to wonder if this emotion is experienced by everyone. History Rōkurō Yamanosuke was born into the noble Yamanosuke family, his eldest brother Inura being the first-born of his father. As the only two children of their mother and father, the two brothers grew up very close to each other. The two brothers were pranksters growing up, often terrorizing the citizens of the Rukongai with their reckless pranks and causing extreme havoc wherever they went. Their father, an older aristocrat apathetic to the demands of others, saw his children as angels and never questioned their actions nor sought to punish them for their behavior. Inura acted as Rōkurō's protector, defending him from harm's way while never being overbearing and overprotective. As the two brothers grew up, they eventually grew out of their trouble making ways and began to mature. They began to train and study together, one brother often challenging the other to grow stronger as to reach their ultimate goal of becoming Shinigami. Although they constantly trained together, over time a noticeable power difference was evident between the two brothers, with Inura possessing larger degree of talent then Rōkurō, who was seen as slower to develop and not as naturally gifted as his older brother. Over time, a split occured between the two brothers. Rōkurō began to harbor feelings of jealousy towards his brother and anger towards himself for not developing as quickly as he wanted to. These feelings of jealousy grew even more when Inura began to withdraw towards himself. Inura eventually aplied to the Shinō Academy without telling Rōkurō. When Rōkurō discovers this, he angrily confronts Inura about his decision. Inura informs Rōkurō that the decision is his to make and not his little brother's. Rōkurō is hurt by these words, telling Inura that the brothers were supposed to do everything together. Inura simply ignores him and demands that he no longer speak of this. Running to his father, he demanded that he too attend the academy. With the permission of his father, Rōkurō applies for the Academy and undergoes the entrance exam, where he is rejected as he was seen as being too weak to keep pace with even the weakest of the classes of the academy. Determined to join the academy, Rōkurō began to train solitarily for hours and on end, someimes having training sessions which extended well into the next day. A year after initially applying to the Shinō Academy, Rōkurō returned to the academy to undergo the entrance exam once more. Rōkurō passed the exam the second time he took it, albeit barely. Rōkurō initially struggled to grasp even the most basic concepts of the major Shinigami arts, and considered dropping out to return home at his lowest point. His brother, a popular student at the Academy, completely disregarded Rōkurō and refused to train with him to help him get better. Rōkurō turned to a older but well respected student, Jinpachi Isa, to assist him in learning the basic concepts. Over a period of a year, the two Shinigami would often spar after classes and train in secluded areas where they could not be seen by their instructors, fearing punishment if the two were to get caught. The two Shinigami established a long-lasting friendship and Rōkurō looked to him as an older brother, replacing the brotherly love he once held for Inura, who had distanced himself from his brother and his family, with Jinpachi. After Jinpachi graduates and enters the Gōtei 13, Rōkuro is initially saddened but continues to pursue his studies in hopes that he will be able to graduate and join his companion in battle. However, Jinpachi is killed during his first mission as a member of the Gōtei 13, when he is tasked with confronting rogue Gillian who had gotten lost and were wandering the Human World, causing havoc and destruction. Rōkurō takes his name in honor of his deceased friend in requiem. At his funeral, he sheds a tear for his deceased comrade and for the first time experiences true feelings of sadness. Continuing his training, Rōkurō learns the name of his Zanpakutō, Sōkoken. Rōkurō graduated from the Academy after six years and applied for the position as the Sixth Seat of the Fifth Division of the Gōtei 13, which he obtained fairly quickly. His brother had graduated from the Academy within a year of Rōkurō's admission and had rapidly ascended the ranks, attaining a Captain level position as the leader of the Third Division by the time of Rōkurō entering the Gōtei 13. Entering the Gōtei 13, comparisons to his brother were rampant and ongoing. These comparisons along with Inura's apathy for his younger brother caused Rōkurō's feelings of jealousy to grow into full on hatred for his brother. His hatred was compounded by the fact that he was referred to as "Inura's brother" instead of by his actual name and that he was treated as inferior to his brother, who was seen as an exceptionally strong Captain and a potential Captain Commander after the retirement of current Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto. Rōkurō's hatred changed into genuine concern when Inura unexpectedly vanished after going to the Rukongai to confront a group of criminals causing havoc. Reporting to Captain Commander Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, Rōkurō boldly demanded that he be assigned the task of looking for his brother, citing family ties as his reason for wanting to go on his own to search for his brother. Yamamoto refused to give Rōkurō such a demanding task given his position as a Seated Officer and his general inexperience as a Shinigami. Rōkurō, refusing to heed the command of the Captain Commander, took off on his own personal search for his brother unassisted. After hours of searching, Rōkurō finds his brother in a desolate area well outside the boundaries of Soul Society. Rōkurō, confronting his brother face to face demands to know what he is doing so far out of the Rukongai. Inura initially remains silent and does not answer Rōkurō, instead glancing at him with a cold stare. Rōkurō, growing impatient, once again demands to know what Inura is doing in such an isolated area outside of the Soul Society boundaries. Inura responds by saying that Rōkurō is the next leader of the Yamanosuke family and that he is relinquishing his family ties, which catches Rōkurō by surprise. Opening his eyes wide, he questions Inura's strange behavior with a shaky voice. Inura tells Rōkurō that he despises him for his weakness and that despite their once close relationship never saw them as equals. Rōkurō, genuinely hurt by these comments, opens his mouth to speak but he is quickly struck by Inura's blade, which opens a deep gash across his chest. Falling to the ground, Inura tells him that he is defecting from the Soul Society and wants Rōkurō to carry on the family name. Inura tells him that he deserves to carry the name of such a weak and spineless clan. Rōkurō gets to his feet and unsheathes his Zanpakutō. He goes to attack his brother only to be swiftly struck down again, this time across his waist. Rōkurō falls to the ground face first, surrounded in a pool of blood. Inura sheathes his sword and tells Rōkurō that he is foolish for attacking a Captain level opponent being as weak as he is. Rōkuro simply moans, unable to speak due to his immense injuries. Inura then summons a Garganta and defects from Soul Society. Before leaving, he turns to look at his fallen brother. His cold, indifferent gaze turns to that of concern for a split second before turning around and leaving through the Garganta. Rōkurō is eventually discovered by the Onmitsukidō. He is bound in thick chains made of Sekkiseki and is transported and escorted into the First Division Barracks. Almost immediately, he is questioned by Yamamoto. Rōkurō initally lies about his brother's actions, telling the Captain Commander that his brother was captured by a group of rogue Shinigami and that he was struck down in an attempt to rescue him. Yamamoto, not fooled by this lie, demands to know the true story. Rōkurō tells Yamamoto of his brother's defection. Within minutes, Rōkurō is taken to the chamber of the Central 46, where he tells the legislative authorities his story and pleads for leniency. Rōkurō, despite his grievous injuries and his bold attempt to stop the defection, is punished for his failure to heed the command of the Captain Commander and is sentenced to a short tenure in the Nest of Maggots, where he is temporarily stripped of his Seated position. After his release from the Nest of Maggots, Rōkurō returns to the First Division barracks, where he publicly begs for forgiveness and asks Yamamoto to reinstate him as the Sixth Seat of the Fifth Division. Yamamoto, unwavered by this public display, initially refuses to allow a criminal to join the ranks of the Gōtei 13, the criminal in question having been a former member. After a couple of weeks, however, Rōkurō is notified that Yamamoto wants to meet with him. Once again going to the First Division barracks, he meets with Yamamoto who reinstates him effective immediately. When questioned about his decision, Yamamoto simply pokes Rōkurō in the head with his cane and simply tells Rōkurō that he should be grateful and that he is not to question this decision. Powers and Abilities Average Spiritual Power: 'Rōkurō possesses an average amount of reiatsu. Although as a child he possessed little to no spiritual power, through years of training and studying he is able to develop control of his latent abilities and later on utilize them effectively. When intensified, it takes the color of light blue energy which radiates faintly around his body. '''Proficient Swordsmanship Specialist: '''Rōkurō is a proficient swordsman, being well versed in the art of zanjutsu. He sees his prowess in Zanjutsu as his greatest asset in battle and is extremlely confident in his ability to fight with any sword, taking offense when his skill is demeaned. Having been taught the basics of Zanjutsu at the Shinō Academy, Rōkurō often practices his swordsmanship skills for extended periods of time, ignoring other skills to focus only on honing his Zanjutsu talent. As his skill with Zanjutsu is not as refined as other Shinigami, Rōkurō tends to use uncontrolled and wide sweeps when utilizing his bladed weapon as opposed to the slow, elegant style that experienced practitioners use. However, he is able to make up for this weakness by quickly shuffling his hips as to avoid the drawbacks of utilizing such wild and raw sweeps, the drawbacks being an exposed body for attack. *'Yanagi no Mai (柳の, Dance of the Willow): An original sword technique that utilizes incredibly acrobatic forms, using spins, charges, and long sweeping slashes to make the strikes more effective and to evade opponents' counter strikes. Rōkurō is not skilled enough to utilize this sword technique correctly; instead, he improvises by combining his agility with his wide sweeping motion in order to strike the opponent while keeping a relatively safe distance. Kidō Practitioner: Rōkurō, despite being taught basic Kidō at the Shinō Academy, was never competent enough to utilize Kidō effectively, and disregarded it as an effective weapon for battle. However, Rōkurō's resolve to grow stronger leads him to discover a love for learning Kidō as a substitute for his own weapon. His dedication to training and studying eventually sees Rōkurō as being able to utilize Kidō somewhat effectively, although he is not yet able to use Kidō in rapid succession and is unable to produce the full strength of higher-level Kidō due to lack of control and consumption of energy. Hakuda Practitioner: Being born into a noble family, Rōkurō never had a need or desire to learn hand-to-hand combat. His older brother was often there to protect him if anything went wrong and he was never placed in a situation where hand-to-hand combat was necessary for self-defense. After entering the Shinō Academy, he is taught the very basics of Hakuda and over time grows more competent to where he is able to at the very least defend himself from other attackers. Rōkurō's eventual desire to become stronger than his oldest brother lead him to properly learn the art of Hakuda and utilize it so that he is not only able to defend himself but is capable of delivering damaging blows to another person. Hohō Expert: Perhaps one of his stronger assets is his expertise with the art of Shunpo. Rōkurō is considerably fast when utilizing Flash Steps, albeit not as fast as a master. However, he is able to effectively keep pace with more experienced users of Shunpo although extended periods of utilizing the technique will cause him to tire very quickly. Rōkurō's speed with Shunpo is not attributed to quick, effortless steps but rather multiple long strides, which allows him to mimic other light-footed Shunpo artists. His style is described as "heavy-footed" and has yet to learn how to move as nimbly as other Shunpo users. *'Enhanced Agility: '''Rōkurō' is a very agile and nimble fighter. He is shown able to react in time to skillfully dodge or counter an assault, even when being distracted. His agility gives him great dexterity in battle, able to attack from various angles with incredible accuracy and strength. He also possesses great balance and hand-eye coordination, as well as enhanced reflexes. *'''Enhanced Strength: Rōkurō has demonstrated on various occasions that he possesses a high degree of physical strength. Rōkurō's physical strength is highly evident when he is emotional, such as giving bone-crushing bear hugs to his captain when he returns from a dangerous mission and nearly breaking a fellow Seated Officer's arm when casually arm wrestling. Rōkurō possesses a type of strength that is not physically evident; his long and slender frame often deceives adversaries who see him as nothing more than a weak low level Shinigami until hit with a simple punch or kick, which reveals the true strength of Rōkurō's frame. *'Enhanced Durability': Rōkurō has showcased extreme durability, being able to survive in even the extremist of temperatures and the most challenging environments. At times where he is mortally wounded, he still shows the will to survive despite the immense pain and physical agony he undergoes. When he becomes enraged, however, Rōkurō's durability is unmatched by even the most traveled of Shinigami; he is capable of withstanding immense physical injuries, the likes of which would kill even the average Shinigami, and is able to absorb menacing blows without so much as a flinch. High Intellect: '''Rōkurō possesses a large amount of intelligence. He has shown himself to be very intelligent in combat as well. He is capable of coming up with very complex, organized plans and strategies that many still use to defeat opponents. However, his hot-headed nature often overrides his battle intelligence. Rōkurō uses his intelligence to find weak points in his opponents, even overcoming disadvantages he has through thinking on his feet. Zanpakutō '''Sōkōken (双交剣, Twin Crossing Blade): It takes the appearance of a normal katana, with a hilt wrapped in black cloth and a thin, brown circular guard. The appearance of the blade resembles an average Zanpakutō, with a silver cutting edge and the top portion of the blade being covered in a black material. The sheath of the zanpakutō is blue with small string wrapped around the top, which is used to grip the sheath in order to draw the blade quicker. *'Shikai:' Sōkōken is released by the command Sever '(たちきる, ''tachikiru). In Shikai, Sōkōken undergoes small cosmetic changes. The blade of Sōkōken is infused with spiritual energy and begins to glow a bright blue. The guard of Sōkōken changes to form a crown-like shape, with multiple protrusions erupting from the side of the guard. The handle of Sōkōken is no longer covered in black cloth; instead it is covered in white cloth bound tightly to the handle. :Shikai Special Ability: 'Any soul cut by the blade of Sōkōken begins to undergo Encroachment, a process where a soul gradually loses its Chain of Fate, undergoing the transformation from a Plus into a Hollow. While this process is a natural process for the majority of souls after death, being cut by Sōkōken's blade accelerates the effect of the process, turning it from a process that takes months or even years to a process that takes mere minutes. Additionally, any Shinigami pierced by this blade slowly begin to have their '''Hakusui' (魄睡, Soul Sleep) and their Saketsu (鎖結, Binding Chain) shut off. While they are shut off, the Shinigami is unable to use any techniques at all, rendering them powerless. Although the effects of the blade on Shinigami only persist as long as the blade is active, the effects of the blade on other spiritual beings are permanent. *'Bankai': Not yet achieved. '' Quotes *"...Memories? They can sometimes become vague and foggy and there are times when they disappear altogether. Therefore, because there are many things I don't want to lose track of, I will record everything in here for the sake of those moments that should not be forgotten''" *"What was the start of all this? When did the cogs of fate begin to turn? Perhaps it is impossible to grasp that answer now, from deep within the flow of time...but, for a certainty, back then, we loved so many, yet hated so much. We hurt others and were hurt ourselves...yet even then we ran like the wind whilst our laughter echoed, under cerulean skies..." *"The world can end in the blink of an eye. One event, one unexpected twist of fate, and suddenly, the world as you knew it is gone. All that you held dear, all that you held close, is washed away into the sea of distant memory. Life is cruel, of this I have no doubt. But life continues on...with or without you. One can only hope that one leaves behind a legacy. But so often, the legacies we leave behind are not the ones we intended." *"Happy memories only form part of the whole - only when combined with the other half can your consciousness truly take form. You must, no...all of you must accept the entirety of your memories!"